A Hazy Goodbye
by Grim Wendigo
Summary: A completely original Horror Short Story loosely based around the Japanese yokai onryo
1. Hazy Goodbye Pt 1

No matter the year, August 8th has always been the worst day of my life. It was also the worst day of my husband's life. On August 8th, when the moon was full and at the stroke of midnight, our daughter was born. She was introduced into the world screaming, seemingly yelling at the world for all of its injustice, cold and tiny and angry, and in the end found herself in my arms where her eyes drifted closed and her voice silenced. My husband, watching on, was shocked that what was before a demon was now peaceful and quiet in my arms. Five years after our daughter was born she vanished from our lives.

Eileen was sitting on the new oak chair I had bought last month, talking in her too-high voice exuberantly as she attempted to console me, somehow worsening the melancholic day that this was supposed to be. " Can you believe it's already been five years? Why, I couldn't imagine not seeing my own children for that long! And not knowing if she's okay? It must be torture! I don't know how you do it, going on how you and your husband have been. Why if I was in your place!..."

Eileen has been involved with our family since that fateful day five years ago, ever since the first news report of our daughter's disappearance. She took it upon herself to befriend both myself and my husband, and now it seems that without her our lives would cease to function on this day. I slide a glance to my husband as she continues talking, he hasn't heard a single word she's said. Instead, he appears to be scavenging through the multiple baskets and gift boxes we've received, taking bites out of food here and there and making disgusted faces at other foods as he opens the fridge and shoves them towards the back. "...oh you two must be in so much pain! And all of these people that bother you each year, they should be ashamed of themselves, really I don't know how you do it!" Eileen finally ends her drawn out speech, picks up her glass of water with a sense of finality, and brings it to her lips. I watch on quietly as I think of what to say. My husband eventually wanders back over,

"The Johnson's stopped sending their bread, and with good riddance too, it was like eating a rock", he quietly speaks into my ear as he takes his seat, a slice of pie courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Watson accompanying him. The humor of my husband inspires me and I finally settled on what to say,

" You know Eileen you've been such help these past six years, especially when dealing with those people, I don't know how _you _do _that" _I send a glance to my husband who is attempting to disguise his oncoming grin by taking a bite of pie, and I have to fight against the tug against my lips at seeing pie crumbs fall onto his clothes due to his awkward display. Eileen straightens out her back and sits tall, as if she has been filled with pride and confidence that she didn't already have,

"Well, I'm always happy to help, you two know that".

"Of course we do Eileen, how could we forget?" My husband replies to her, his face serious once more. Eileen smiles at him as if she had been worried and he had reassured her. The room is once more filled with silence, Eileen is content as she spoke her mind and had been reassured of her importance, and now is waiting to be excused as is done every year. I glance at my husband, his eyebrows arched, as if telling me that it was my turn to show Eileen out. I silently sigh to myself, and glance towards the clock "Would you look at the time? It's already been three hours and my husband and I still haven't gotten to work on cleaning up this place, and I need to organize all of the food as well".

"Oh, well, in that case, let me get out of your hair, I'd hate to be in the way. But you know I could always help". We both begin to rise out of our chairs as I show her to the door,

"Really it's fine Eileen, why don't you head home and we can-" _**Ring Ring **_I glance over to my phone, and my heart sinks when I notice that it's an unknown caller, my hope for Eileen's visit to end dwindling with each tone, _**Ring Ring. **_

"Who is it dear?" Eileen peers over my shoulder to get a closer look at my phone, "another call? Why, I'll handle this, you just go and sit with your husband"

"Alright Eileen, if you're up to it." I barely am able to disguise my sense of defeat as I sit back down, my husband patting my shoulder sympathetically as I watch Eileen pick up my phone. _**Ring Ring **_

"Hello, who is this?... Now we both know you aren't her so quit your lying...Why I'd never…You won't be talking to either of them, and I suggest you don't call again or the police will get involved, goodbye!" Eileen hung up the phone, effectively ending the conversation. "Who was that Eileen?" My husband asks curiously, Eileen huffs angrily "Just some kid pretending to be your daughter. They can be quite the little monsters. But this is especially mean, they're demon spawn, the lot of them that do this",

"Well, thank you for handling it Eileen" I intone as I stand up once more.

"No problem, if you have any issues just give me a call!"

"We will Eileen, now we really have to get to work"

"Alright then, I'll head out, but I expect to hear from you two soon!"

"Will do Eileen"

I open the door and usher her out, sighing with relief as I close the door and wander back to my husband, slowly starting to sit back down before- _**Ring Ring "**_It's the same number" my husband says, staring at my phone. "I'll just ignore it, they all give up eventually," I reply.

They didn't give up.


	2. Hazy Goodbye Pt 2

_**Ring Ring**_

It's two AM.

I drowsily wake up and stare at my phone as it goes off. It seems that my entire day yesterday was filled with this phone buzzing and me consequently ignoring it. My Husband grumbles and roles over "just answer it honey, give them what they want so that we can sleep". I sigh and sit up, finally answering the phone call "Hello?"

"I didn't think you'd take this long to pick up" a young girls voice growls at me from the other end. I don't deem this to need a reply, and instead ask "Who is this?" My husband watches on with mild curiosity.

"It's your daughter". My mood instantly darkens

"Don't pretend to be someone you're not, my daughter is dead". My husband is now fully awake and is sitting up beside me on the bed,

"I guess you're right, you would know that, wouldn't you?" Suddenly nerves start to build up within me as I recall a dark night,

"I don't know what you're talking about" I monotonously reply.

"You don't? well, let me jog your memory then." I glanced nervously at my husband. "You used to be a family of three, a very poor, and sad, and depressed family of three. And what was the cause of all of this? A very loud little girl who made lots of messes and cost a lot of money". I suddenly feel nauseous, and I begin to remember that night. We couldn't pay the electricity bill, one more mouth to feed was one too many, and this one wouldn't stop screeching. "You decided to go for a walk, as a family, by the river, maybe clear your heads a little". my husband and I had discussed beforehand what was going to happen, only in theory in the beginning, but as the days increased so did the probability of our plan coming into fruition. "What a perfect night it was, dark and far away from everyone, with a nice deep river to block out sound". I just wanted a better future for my family, and that meant one less mouth to feed. All I wanted was what was best. What occurred was for the best. "You had no mercy, she screamed, she begged, and you ignored her." I can still feel her sharp nails digging into my skin as I held her there, ice cold water enveloping her and my arms, my husband standing on the bank silently watching. " And he just watched. Is he still doing that? Is he sitting beside you and not saying a word? Is he still just sitting quietly beside you, only to let you do however you please?!" Her voice seemed to get deeper, almost as if she was growling instead of speaking. I remember everything and unease fills my very being. "Sweet little daughters turn into demons if they're betrayed. And you've-" I interrupt her, I can't take it anymore,

"You have no clue what you're talking about!"I hang up, breathing heavily. I glance over at my husband, his face is pale and his hands are shaking, but he says nothing. I can't stand the silence, and quickly interrupt it "..I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back". I quickly pad through the hallway and into the bathroom, where I promptly go to the sink and turn on the cold water, splashing myself with it, and quickly compose myself before heading back.

_**Ring Ring. **_The phone goes off again, causing me to pause midway to the door and stop, breathing heavily in panic at the fact that this person wants more from us, and praying that my husband will handle it so I don't have to. _**Ring Ring. **_It continues, and I hear shuffling from the other side of the door

_**Ring Ring. **_Finally I hear a heavy sigh, and a click, and then the house is plunged into silence once more. "_My husband must have hung up" _ I think to myself, and as I quietly stand in the hallway, shocked at the past events and not quite believing what has occurred, I notice the house isn't completely silent, it's raining outside. I open the door to the bedroom and quickly enter. I walk over to the window so as to close it, and prevent the rain from coming inside, when I notice that the sound isn't coming from the outside, it's coming from the inside. Sudden realization dawns on me as I turn around, and see that the phone is on. The sound wasn't rain, it was static. I glance over towards my husband, sleeping on the other side of the bed, and approach my phone lying on the nightstand. I reach to hang it up, feeling as though something is very wrong, as though I'm being watched, and am about to turn around when I feel something on my neck. Someone is breathing on my neck. I glance once more at my husband, he's still sleeping. The breath is hot and seems to burn my skin, and I stand frozen in fear while trying to figure out what I should do. A weight is placed on my shoulder, and I notice out of the corner of my eye long needle-like fingers, with fingernails that seemed to be sharpened to a point. The grip gets tighter and tighter, and the only thought I can process is "_what?_". The grip tightens, the fingernails slowly push in and pierce my skin, drawing blood, causing me to whimper. A second hand travels up to my throat, its brittle, and extremely thin. I scream, and suddenly my scream turns silent, I can taste blood and feel something damp travel down my shirt. I lift my hand up and feel a cut along my throat, I choke more violently as I realize that I'm dying, as I collapse upon the ground I attempt to crawl to the forgotten phone. When I feel a strong force throw me against the wall, a sickening crack resonating within me as I fall upon the light switch,flicking it on in the process. I look at my husband, my eyes shifting to his face pleading for him to wake up, when I realize something is horribly wrong. His eyes are missing. Instead staring back at me are two empty voids, gore and blood splattered across the bed, and as I collapse upon the ground I notice that the phone was knocked down near to me. My vision begins to go hazy, a gray tunnel forming, my body feels as if gravity is crushing it and the cool floor is barely registered by my nerves, instead all that is felt is the extreme pain that is slowly vanishing along with the rest of me, and in this gray haze a message escapes the static of the phone, "Goodbye, Mother".


End file.
